The Lesser of Two Evils
by PacifistBrony
Summary: Which is better? To be crippled by your hero, or to face the menace yourself?


The Lesser of Two Evils: a Legend of Zelda fanfic by Elah806

_Author's Note: this story takes place in context of The Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker_, _during the point in the game where Link is hunting for the shards of the Triforce of Courage. However, as you will see, it is pertinent to most Zelda games in some fashion. Thank you so much for reading this story, which is coincidentally my first full fanfic and my debut on this site._

The Windfall Café Bar does brisk trade by day, but, like every other inhabited island in the vast expanse of the Great Sea, Windfall Island seems to become a ghost town at night. Unless, of course, there is an auction on.

It is thus that Gillian, the bar's owner, is surprised when she looks up after getting all her washing done for closing time to find that a patron is still sitting at one of the tables, several empty mugs, sheets of paper, and spent writing materials littered before him.

"'Hoy, hon," she calls. He looked up, his expression weary but also happy, as if fast approaching the end of a long and arduous journey. "I'd normally be closin' up now, but if you want to stay here that's fine with me. I'll just find some work or somethin' to do until you're ready to leave."

"Oh, I won't be long. Just a few more minutes," he says. He speaks lightly and quietly, with the air of some sort of young student, little learned in practical matters but still full of potential in bettering the world. He orders one more mug of coffee. "That looks like it's taken you a long time," said Gillian as she brings it, eyeing the papers that lie before the young man. "Oh, it has," he says. "But it's truly been a labor of love, and I can't wait to see what the editor of the _Sea Journal_ thinks of it."

"Well, here's hoping you get it in," says Gillian encouragingly as she plops down his drink. "Tell you what, this one's on me. Just tell me what it's about."

"Ah," he says, his eyes twinkling through their tired glaze, "It concerns the child most people are calling a hero."

"Oh, yeah, him," says Gillian thoughtfully. "He's been in here a couple of times. Doesn't say much, never bought anything. I wouldn't expect someone his age to have developed a taste for coffee yet, anyway. Doesn't seem very heroic to me, though people tell me all sorts of stuff about him. Some of it sounds really ridiculous. You go ahead and get back to it, though, don't let me keep you. You look like you need to get to sleep soon." She goes off to the corner table and starts playing solitaire with one of the card decks she lays out for customers to use.

The man sips his coffee, shuffles the paper together and prepares to do one last proofread before going home.

"My dear friends and fellow citizens of the Great Sea, these recent times have been strange, disorienting, and altogether far removed from the peaceful lull that seems so oddly long ago. In just two short months, we have witnessed a sudden battle rise up, with our fair ocean as the field of play.

"On one side of this battle is a mysterious power that some call a man, others a ghost, but whom few have seen. This power, whatever it may be, appears to be in command or direct control of a legion of near-human creatures, encompassing mainly Moblins and Bokoblins. The singular vanguard of its army is a giant bird, once believed to be folklore, but now known as the entirely real and corporeal Helmaroc King. Innocent travelers have encountered its forces on many of the Great Sea's uninhabited islands. The most popular case involves a pair of kidnapped girls from Windfall Island.

"The other side of this war is, strangely, only one person, and at that merely a child. This boy, apparently named Link, has been sighted all over the Great Sea, and is rumored to have alleviated and relieved many of our fellows of their hardships and dangers. Most notably, it appears that this 'Link' may be single-handedly responsible for ending the well-documented 'Windstorm Crisis' experienced by the Rito tribe of Dragon Roost Island. After earning the trust of the Ritos and the apparent approval of the dragon that presides over them, Valoo, this child paid a visit to Forest Haven. Just after trans-islandic shopkeeper Beedle reported that Link had bought some fish bait after exiting the massive and reportedly treacherous cavern within the island, the twelve beings known as Koroks who reside there began to appear around the Great Sea, for the first time in several decades.

"Though people far and wide extoll the heroics of this twelve-year-old boy, there is a darker side to his escapades that they overlook. Link may be solving a myriad problems, but greater ones spring up with alarming quantity in the wake of his small boat. The extent and impact that this one child may have on the Great Sea is such that to remove Link and face Ganon ourselves would be more prudent than to let his conquest continue.

"According to Mako, a seafarer who refused to identify himself beyond his name, Link's eventful journey began when the Helmaroc King kidnapped his younger sister, Aryll. Armed with a plain, weak-looking sword and a meager wooden shield, the child joined the crew of Mako's ship and traveled to the Forsaken Fortress, where they deposited him and waited (despite their fears; the Forsaken Fortress has long been considered lethal to all intruders) until the Helmaroc King gave a loud, warlike cry and they fled, fearing their safety.

"The morning after Mako claims this episode occurred, various citizens of Windfall Island reported seeing the child beach and go ashore in a small red boat that lacked a sail. According to Zunari, a merchant then new to the Great Sea, Link purchased a sail from his store before exploring the island for half of the day. A dock-watcher on Windfall reported that he set out east, in the direction of Dragon Roost Island, early that afternoon.

"In these the earlier days of Link's ventures, he did an undeniably good deed in soothing the torture that seemed to have overcome the great dragon Valoo, thus allowing the Rito people to assume their everyday life on Dragon Roost. As mentioned before, he also seems to have been a catalyst for the Koroks to appear again.

"It was during the Korok-freeing visit to Forest Haven that Link began to show the first signs of a more troublesome turn. In addition to seeing him enter and exit Forest Haven, Mr. Beedle attests that Link disposed of multiple Boko Baba plants and Shallow-Dwelling Octoroks when they blocked his path into the island. Boko Babas are fairly common and aggressive, but Octorocks are an entirely different story. While Deep-Sea Octorocks are fairly common and dangerous, River Octorocks have one solitary and feeble defense mechanism, and thus have become extremely rare. The Hylian Law code clearly states (as it has since the 79th amendment twenty-six years ago) that the River Octorok is an endangered species, and that killing one is punishable by heavy fines. Though the truthfulness of the witness is questionable (many have attested to Mr. Beedle's eccentric and occasionally hysterical behavior) Link may be subject to fines of over 3000 rupees.

"Though recklessly destroying an endangered species seems horrific, there is not a single one of the Great Sea's many inhabitants who would not prefer it to perhaps the most destructive and terrible event directly linked to the child: the 14 Days' Night. This disastrous curse set by Ganon, as we are all well aware, required a full fortnight to be broken, and in that time there were dozens of mudslides, countless floods, and no sunlight to strengthen crops. Several unfortunate seafarers have yet to be found, and those lucky few who survived report that the menaces of the sea were far more numerous and treacherous than they had ever witnessed before. Friends, I do not wish to pour more salt in this very fresh wound of ours, so I will not linger on it, but it is quite clear that Link is directly linked to this due to the notices Ganon delivered to every island detailing the conditions on which the curse would lift. And thank Nayru that it somehow broke before we had managed to accomplish anything towards meeting them.

"During the 14 Days' Night, Link also showed signs of his rampant habits of thievery. One Mr. Cannon, who runs a bomb shop on Windfall Island, insists that the child broke into his store and searched it for bombs before leaving, right before his eyes. Cannon was unable to do anything, however – moments before, a gang of pirates had stolen all of the store's wares, and he himself was tied up in a corner of the shop, watching helplessly while Link rummaged around the store. "He even came up and examined me for a few seconds!," says Cannon. "He just waltzed right in, without even bothering to keep secret. I had stopped him from purchasing my goods earlier – but really, who sells explosives to little boys? - but that gives him no right whatsoever to break into my store!" Not only did Link break in, but he also appears to be affiliated with this pirate gang – it wasn't long after this incident that eyewitnesses saw Link using bombs with great frequency. "No rock in the Great Sea is safe," joked one merchant.

"It turns out that Link's disregard for ownership rights extends rather far back. The peaceful people of Outset Island, his birthplace, are quick to reveal that Link has ravaged them without resistance. As the only capable and best-armed fighter on the island (the one other trained warrior, an aged man named Orca, spends his days kicking walls under the belief that they are hideous creatures, while his brother restrains and tends to him), Link has stolen the monies of every single person on the island. "He just walked in and nicked my entire life savings. The worst bit was he walked out tossing it in the air like it was barely worth anything!" raves one man. Another woman attests that Link also stole the life savings of his own Grandmother, whom he left helpless and alone the day he went to search for Aryll. "Of course, she couldn't do anything about it, the poor dear," she muses. "She even gave Link the family shield. Of course the loss of both little ones was hard on her, but it was when she checked her basement one evening and discovered that all her money was gone that she was completely crushed. I saw the little rascal crawl under her deck myself. He even had the gall to come back and visit! I acted like I was happy, of course, he had that sword, but I went round and made sure nothing had happened to her after he left. He hadn't killed her, thank goodness, but he'd given her an artificial mood! I recognize all the symptoms from one of those books the old man has: reckless happiness, an inability to sit, a sudden desire to cook – that idiot gave her a fairy! For all we know, he could have supplied her with more – that sensation is highly addictive, you know!" Not only is the use of fairies addictive, the capture and possession of one is punishable by death, due to the scarcity and innocence of said fairies. In addition to all this, after Link abandoned Outset Island, the place became infested with nocturnal ChuChus, which the poor citizenry were unable to defend themselves against. They are now scared to leave their homes even during the day.

"Many other islanders report that Link has been leeching cash from them regularly. One shop owner on Windfall who refused to give his name claims that Link raided his stash without even taking notice that he was standing there. The Ritos of Dragon Roost claim that the boy has been taking advantage of the tribe's zero-tolerance approach to breaking promises and has been making easy money off of their post office. "I once thought I'd get even with him," said a postal clerk, "I had the mailbox charge the punk an astronomical amount of shipping before would give a letter to him – 201 rupees, I think it was – but he just paid it all without a second thought! That one kid owns half the assets of the Great Sea, he does!" Indeed, Link does seem to be carrying around a wealth of valuable items in addition to money. Eyewitnesses claim that they have seen him carrying and using a Picto Box (which famed pictographer Lenzo stopped making and selling long ago), blue Chu jelly (derived from yet another endangered species), gold feathers (which the Ritos are known to pay unbelievable amounts for), and ancient artifacts such as the Deku Boomerang, the Mirror Shield, the Hero's Bow and even the legendary Master Sword and Wind Waker, all of which should immediately be preserved and examined in a museum, not put to everyday use by a child. Not even undersea storage places are safe. "After he stole my life savings, I went out to fetch my rainy day fund that I'd hid just off the coast, only to find that he'd dredged that up, too! I saw him floating away, dumping the empty chest into the ocean," says an Outset Island dweller. Many others have reported that cash reserves they placed on the ocean floor have vanished, and some of them strongly suspect Link as well.

"Link has even been known to cause upsets in natural order. It has been well-established that he has in fact summoned up the Tower of the Gods, an ancient "testing ground" for past heroes that placed them in lethal situations to see if they had the mettle for being the nation's most valuable warriors. Though Link appears to have survived whatever ordeals he may have faced, the Tower's rise has caused swollen waterways, abnormal tides, and floods all over the Great Sea. Link has been using the Wind Waker liberally, frequently making the wind change (several ports have stopped putting out ships altogether because sailing has become nearly impossible) and traveling around the Great Sea on miniature cyclones, causing yet more meteorological disturbance. Link also singlehandedly cut off the warm and cold water supply to Windfall and Dragon Roost for several days. "He FROZE Fire Island!" Mr. Beedle exclaimed. "He just shot this little magic arrow into it and the whole thing just froze! He melted Ice Ring, too!" Windfall and Dragon Roost have long been relying on a submarine pipe system to tap into these natural resources.

"Many islanders additionally report that Link often cuts down every tree, bush, and even stray blade of grass on any given island before moving to accomplish whatever his task is at the moment. His vendetta also appears to extend to jars and pots inside and outside of people's homes and storefronts. This disturbing display of violence, if nothing else, shows Link to be mentally unstable at best, and he therefore requires confinement and special attention rather than the freedom to run amok throughout the Great Sea.

"Many will point out that Ganon is a known kidnapper; he has so far taken three people and held them at ransom. However, not even this atrocity is beyond Link. Many Ritos claim to have seen Link sailing away from their island with a Rito child named Medli (incidentally also the priest to Valoo) after playing a song with her using the Wind Waker. If the legends are true, two of the many capabilities of the item are hypnosis and direct possession; Link and Medli were last seen heading directly toward the secluded location of Headstone Island; though he may only be holding her for a ransom, he may even be using her to explore certain things about himself and her.

"Of course, the greatest argument for allowing Link's delinquency to continue is that he may be the only hope for the Great Sea's continued peace. Were he not here, would Ganon have anything to stop him from conquering all of us? However, there is much more that a small child holding Ganon back. Even though Link has been known to vanish for long periods, Ganon has not attacked, even though the Great Sea is "vulnerable." Link can only be in one place at a time; Ganon's army could sweep an entire half of this vast ocean before he even realizes that something might be amiss. No, Ganon is waiting for something else: for Link to have weakened us enough that he can attack safely. Link's path of destruction is weakening the Great Sea's economy, ecology, defenses, and morale; it is only a matter of time before we have been so downtrodden that we are completely helpless against him. If we were to rid ourselves of the curse that is Link, then our state of affairs would only improve, until it is us who can attack Ganon. If Link were to somehow crush Ganon before he crushes us, then we will technically be saved; but after that, what is it that can stop Link from taking over the Great Sea himself? With his funds, his weaponry, and the favor he now holds with many of us, he could conquer us just as easily, if not with greater ease, than Ganon himself. The solution is clear: we must rid ourselves of Link, or our future is in jeopardy."


End file.
